158 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1886 Mr. Gladstone resigned before the final returns were sent in, and when Parliament met on August 5 Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach was Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Londonderry, Viceroy. The second great Home Eule battle had been fought and lost. Parnell was standing one day in the Lobby after the General Election; Mr. Chamberlain passed. ' There goes the man/ said Parnell, ' who killed the Home Eule Bill/ The Irish leader thought that Mr. Gladstone had committed a tactical mistake in mixing up land purchase with the question of an Irish Parliament. He had a conversation with Davitb on this subject while Home Eule still hung in the balance. Parnell. ' The Home Eule Bill will be wrecked by the land purchase scheme. I think it would be better to drop the land scheme altogether/ Davitt. c Drop the land----- ! Why, it is vital/ Parnell. ' I don't think so ; furthermore, I think that if we had a Parliament in Ireland it would be wiser to drop the land question/ Davitt. ' Drop the land question! How on earth could you drop the land question after all we have done during the last seven years ? ' Parnell. ' Oh! I don't mean that there shall be no land legislation. There might be an amendment of the Act of 1881 and of the Act of 1885. We should proceed slowly. But there should be no revolutionary changes. No attack upon the land system as a whole/ Davitt. 'Mr. Parnell! how on earth could you resist attacking the land system, as a whole, after all we cannot persuade the English people. They will only do what we force them to do.' I said : ' Mr. Gladstone can persuade them.' 'Yes/ he answered, 'they will listen to an Englishman. They won't listen to us.'l ho told for the admirationor a put on their trial) ; youw take to tell the Htory. Whenoin Mr, (*lml**tunr,* Nr\t